Saltings, Mudflats and Marshes

I love this image because it succesfully resolves the sometimes difficult visual problem at the heart of this brief: Create a composition from seemingly featureless and often bleak landscapes. For me, this composition resolves that problem with technical acumen and the essential combination of right eye, right lens, right time, right place followed by well judged processing. I simply can't fault the shot selection, angle of view, depth of field, the colours and the sharpness of the detail. Excellent work. Thank you for sharing. A shoe-in for my Third Place ...

I have to confess that I had to overcome my prejudice against digital frames to include this wonderful shot in my Top Ten. I know that others will disagree but most frames add nothing for me and I believe that, as a general rule, it’s better to let the image speak for itself ... That said, there is always an exception to every rule and this composition really shouted ‘exceptional’ to me. I love everything about this composition because it quietly encapsulates both the tranquility of the place - through the figure in the boat and the silver grey tonal range - and the contrasting teeming chaos of the abundant birdlife in this wetland. This is an accomplished work and, yes, it speaks for itself even with the frame. Just goes to show - rigid rules and fixed opinions are best put to one side when trying to judge a contest with an open mind. It was great to have my prejudices challenged. Thank you ...

I'm really delighted to be able to pick an aerial shot as my Winner for this contest because it's more than a great drone shot, it's also a great composition and it fits the brief perfectly. Mudflats, saltings and marshes around river estuaries are often 'graveyards' for boats and that's what we have here. The meandering diagonal flow of the channel from upper left to bottom right holds the composition together. The understated colour tones are just right and the triangle of the three hulks hold our attention long enough to encourage us to explore and discover the skeleton remains of two other vessels. The atmosphere of this seemingly desolate and abandoned place is captured in a unique way that would only be possible with an aerial view. My No.1 without a doubt ... Congratulations.

I don't 'look behind' the entries to identify the photographers when I'm judging. I also take no notice of the Photocrowd vote while I'm deciding on my places. However, I did google Lake Wanaka because that inormation was available to me in the hash tags and of course ... light bulb moment ... Is this the famous tree that's normally photographed standing in the waters of the lake? But here, water levels have dropped so that just about made it a 'mudflat' entry rather than a 'waterscape' entry for a contest yet to come ... and it was a very welcome entry too. I really loved the simple clarity of this composition and the well judged use of colour. Nothing shouts. The image just draws us in. A highly commended Top Ten winner.

I just couldn't resist the over-populated craziness of this image. The landscapes covered by my brief could be isolated and bleak or full of life and industry. and many fine entries captured both but, for me, this great composition captures it all. I love the shot selection and the dramatic graphic skyline of the chemical works beyond the boats stranded on the mudflats. The grayscale processing enhances the sense of drama here but, on my reading of this image, the 'drunken' larger fishing boat lurching towards us at bottom right adds just the right surreal and almost comic touch. It catches the eye and draws us in. So much to see here ... A certainty for my Top Ten since it was first uploaded. Congratulations ..

Even before I zoomed in on the map, I'd guessed that this was taken from the mudflats at Weston-Super-Mare looking out to the Bristol Channel and the Flat Holm and Steep Holm islands. I think this shot might just have sold me on Zeiss Distagon lenses. I've already confessed that I'm no fan of frames around images but I have to surrender again and admit that, in my opinion, the great range of tones here actually benefit from the ground provided by this well judged white frame. And need I say that I really love this image? It's a mini masterclass for all of us who know that we still have much to learn. The leading lines and the low level of view make the best of the light and I can't fault the greyscale processing, the moody atmosphere, the definition and the depth of field. Thank you for sharing it wih us.

I loved the simplicity of this shot. The river runs through this unforgiving wetland and the reed bed gives us the sense of scale that we need to interpret the composition. The shot selection of the bends in the meandering stream as it flows through the mudflats works for me and I also I like the muted tones and treatment of the blue grey flats with the light suggesting the contour lines. The image comes close to the abstract and that also appealed to me. It therefore takes a worthy place in my Top Ten.

I really like the limited palette employed here. The photographer has used the difficult grey haze to good effect by carrying the lack of definition in the sky through the muddy greys of the image. There are only the lightest suggestions of blue in the middle distance waters and the desaturated colours on the woman's clothes to persuade us that this is a full colour image. I also really like the overlapping triangulations in this composition which bind it together and hold our attention e.g. the triangles created by the two birds in the lower foreground and the figure of the woman harvesting seaweed; the triangle created by the same foreground figure and the distant figures and then the triangles created by the patterning of the stakes - if you squint at the photo you should be able to see them. It's a fascinating formal element of composition that we often incorporate without realising it. There's also a simple tip for beginners here: In common with all of my leading images, the horizon in this image is straight. I had to reject some really good images because the entrants had failed to make this simple correction. It's easily done and could improve your placings dramatically so it could be worth a try. ... Meanwhile, back to this restrained composition because I simply want to acknowledge here that it really grew on me the more I looked it and, in my judgement, that is more than sufficient reason to award it a rightful place at Number Four in my Top Ten. Many congratulations ...

The hash tags tell me that this is the drainage mill on Herringfleet Marshes in Suffolk. Unsurprisingly, there were many shots from the coastal flatlands of East Anglia submitted to this contest but this warm and technically accomplished shot really stood out for me. In my opinion, there were some fine judgements at work here to expose the reed beds and the banking of the dyke against the low light of the sun. There is inevitably some burnout but that is always a balanced aesthetic judgement and this photographer's judgement certainly works for me. with this shot. Everything is being pushed to the limit and whatever may be lost in sharpness is gained in the overall atmospheric. I feel as though I'm squinting into that low sun and the vapour trails in the sky and the warm colours make this image complete. A highly commendable Second Place ...